TRAGEDY (195:391/351:326) M6, W6 Scott 205 Final Syllabus

Steven F. Walker, Professor of Comparative Literature ()

Week 1/ September 7 and 8 (Thursday=Monday classes) Introduction: What is tragedy? What is theater? Aristotle on tragedy (Aristotle sheet)

Week 2/ September 12 and 14: Sophocles’ Ajax (Grene, Complete Greek Tragedies, 9)

Week 3/ September 19 and 21: Shakespeare’s Antony and Cleopatra + “Chapter Six: Tragedy, Inflation and Midlife Transformation” pp. 238-245 and 280-292 online reserve

Week 4/ September 26 and 28: Can a comedy be a tragedy? Molière’s Tartuffe

+ “Borderline Personality Disorder and the Enigma of Tartuffe” (online reserve)

Week 5/ October 3 and 5: Milton’s Samson Agonistes

Week 6/ October 10 and 12: Can a tragedy end happily? Sophocles, Philoctetes (Grene, Complete Greek Tragedies, 9) + online reserve “Tragedy” (on Philoctetes: 246-264)

Week 7/ October 17: “Invention of Theater” (online reserve)

October 19: Midterm Examination + paper topic sheet distributed

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Week 8/ October 24 and 26: Non-Western tragedy? Kalidasa’s The Recognition of Shakuntala + online reserve “Hindu perspectives on Midlife”

Week 9/ October 31 and November 2: Goethe’s Faust Part I

Week 10/ November 7 and 9: Goethe’s Faust Part I

Week 11/ November 14 and 16: Is Hell (tragedy?) other people? Sartre’s No Exit

Week 12/ November 21: Williams’ Suddenly Last Summer:

nnnnnnnnnnnnnnn Thanksgiving Break nnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn

Week 13/ November 28 and 30: Suddenly Last Summer (film)

Week 14/ December 5 John Adams’ opera The Death of Klinghoffer (film version) (MEET in 195 College Ave. seminar room 4:30—7PM) + December 7 (Scott 205)

+ online reserve: 2 items on The Death of Klinghoffer

Week 15/ December 12: Review + paper due (final exam will be as officially scheduled)

FINAL EXAM: Thursday, December 22 4-7PM (Scott 205)

8 required books, RU Bookstore

1) Sophocles II (Grene, Complete Greek Tragedies, Vol. 9): for Ajax and Philoctetes

2) Shakespeare, Antony and Cleopatra 3) Molière, Tartuffe (trans. Wilbur)

4)  Milton, Samson Agonistes 5) Goethe, Faust (trans. Luke) 6) Kalidasa, The Recognition of Shakuntala (trans. Johnson) 7) Sartre, No Exit

8) Williams, Suddenly Last Summer

Grading: paper 30%, midterm 20%, final 40%, attendance/participation 10%